RE: {Chrysler 300} Torsion Bars + Eyebrows

Agreed. If not planned obsolescence, then passive un-design by the pencil-necked bean counters. New cars in Iowa were often treated by Ziebart—an organization that had instructions and tools to protect sheet metal, rocker panel internals and inside and outsides of frames for most cars of the era. They used a nasty black tarry substance sprayed on. Often done on more expensive cars and it seemed to work. Chevvies, Fords and Plymouth often rusted through their eyebrows after just a couple winters of salty Des Moines slush. We had hot water on the wash rack and would hose down the area around the eyebrow insides and often found the area plugged with frozen, salty mud. I think there was even a five-year warranty against rust through on Ziebarted cars that were treated right off the dealer’s floors.

‘50’s kid Rich Barber in Brentwood CA—overcast with cooler weather and possibly rain coming. Bring it on.

From: chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Ryan Hill
Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2022 12:57 PM
To: Ron Waters <ronbo97@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: {Chrysler 300} Torsion Bars + Eyebrows

Just a comment on the subject of vehicle engineering and metal prep. I’m a natural skeptic so I’ve always assumed that whenever I see a product that could easily have been improved at a very low cost, it was by design. Am I way off base thinking that not fully dipping a fender or adding a shield could well have been a conscious decision?

These cars were never designed to last very long and in most cases didn’t. Most of the classic cars we enjoy have undergone extensive reconstruction to save them from decay, much of which could have been avoided with improved design.

Also, it isn’t really fair to conclude that methodical use of modern metal treatments and coatings will fair much better than what was originally used unless you are subjecting the vehicle to the same punishing environments that many of these cars saw daily.

Ryan Hill

On Feb 20, 2022, at 9:13 AM, Ron Waters <ronbo97@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Well, if you've ever seen, and tried to remove, the undercoating from the directly-exposed inner fenders of a late 50s Mopar, you see that the undercoating did its job. Those inner fenders would have been swiss cheese without it. So if that kind of protection had been applied right up to the inner edge of the eyebrows, it would have likely been a non-issue. But they cheaped out and it cost them.

When I did my 58 Plymouth, the fenders were media blasted inside and out. Then a thick layer of Bill Hirsh Miracle Paint (similar to POR-15) was applied to the problem areas of the fender (inner eyebrows, lower rear part of the fender where the reinforcement brace is welded) as a barrier coat, then the entire fender was epoxy primed. Twenty years later, no problems. Same procedure for the inner quarters and rear wheel well openings, BTW.

Ron

From: John Grady [mailto:jkg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2022 11:05 AM
To: Ron Waters
Cc: chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: {Chrysler 300} Torsion Bars + Eyebrows
This was common, it was not just undercoating , design caused impacted junk to fill that , thrown by front tire . Add damp salt , no paint can stop that . It even takes out headlight buckets too . And all the metal holes pierced around screws rust and fall out forward .
So after repairing 57 dodge eyebrow with hand fabbed pieces , a lot of work ( could not find eyebrow patches anymore) and painting the inside with rustoleum , we put in a cut to shape stainless steel blocker sheet behind the headlights , caulked far edges to fender and it bolts on a lip to apron , no more packing in of junk . They should have done that
Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 20, 2022, at 10:55 AM, Ron Waters <ronbo97@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Don Warnaar mentioned the eyebrows rusting out on our late 50s Mopars. One of the reasons that happened was that Chrysler never bothered to undercoat the last 6 - 8 inches inslde the eyebrow. I discovered that when I did a ground up restoration on my 58 Plymouth. I acquired six rust free 58 Plymouth fenders from Western cars. The undercoating just 'ends' at a certain point. A foolish mistake to save a few seconds of production work and a few pennies for the bean counters.

Ron

From: chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Don Warnaar
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2022 4:32 PM
To: Donald Verity
Cc: chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: {Chrysler 300} Torsion Bars
Don Verity said it all, but I can add a personal experience. I bought a '57 Plymouth in 1959. The rear anchors did not have boots and they were filled with debris. Did not try to seal them with some sort of boot, but cleaned out all the debris and kept them clean on a regular basis. Neither ever broke. Had a '60 Plymouth which of course had the boots.

Of course, one headlight brow was rusting shortly after getting the car.. Thoroughly cleaned out all the caked in mud on both fenders and painted the inside of each with Rustoleum primer and then enamel. Kept both free of debris by blowing out with compressed air regularly. The good one never rusted out. The other required minor repair a couple of times even with the coating inside.

Don Warnaar

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